Cleveland Clinic Awarded $5 Million Grant to Advance Research on Chronic Lung Allograft Dysfunction in Cystic Fibrosis Lung Transplantation
In a significant development for lung transplantation research, Cleveland Clinic has secured a $5 million grant from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to continue its pivotal role as the Biorepository Coordinating Center for the Cystic Fibrosis Lung Transplant Consortium through 2030. This renewed funding underscores the critical importance of advancing scientific understanding to improve long-term outcomes for lung transplant recipients, particularly those with cystic fibrosis. The consortium itself encompasses 15 leading institutions across North America, uniting expertise to forge a collaborative research network dedicated to elucidating and combating complications following transplantation.
At the heart of this initiative is a prospective, longitudinal study meticulously gathering biological specimens and comprehensive clinical data from lung transplant patients at crucial postoperative intervals. All this information is systematically integrated with the Cystic Fibrosis Lung Transplant Consortium registry, creating an invaluable resource for researchers worldwide. The Biorepository Coordinating Center, directed by Dr. Maryam Valapour, alongside scientific director Dr. Suzy Comhair, plays a vital role in maintaining this resource, ensuring data integrity, and fostering research initiatives targeting Chronic Lung Allograft Dysfunction (CLAD).
CLAD remains the principal cause of lung transplant failure and mortality, characterized by progressive decline in lung function due to immune- and non-immune-mediated injury to the allograft. Despite advancements in transplant techniques and perioperative care, the persistent incidence of CLAD continues to limit survival benefits post-transplant. This pathologic process manifests typically as bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome or restrictive allograft syndrome, both reflecting phenotypic expressions of chronic rejection with distinct molecular and cellular underpinnings. Understanding CLAD’s etiology, therefore, demands an integration of clinical phenotyping with molecular and immunologic profiling facilitated by robust biorepositories.
The Biorepository Coordinating Center’s infrastructure supports ongoing collection and curation of biological specimens, such as blood, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and tissue biopsies, alongside detailed clinical annotations. These biospecimens enable multi-omics analyses, including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, to unravel the complex interplay of factors driving CLAD pathogenesis. Leveraging these data is essential for identifying biomarkers predictive of CLAD onset, progression, and response to therapy, paving the way for precision medicine approaches in lung transplantation.
Dr. Valapour emphasized the transformative potential of this funding in building upon the consortium’s achievements over the past five years. The goal remains to enhance long-term transplant survival through targeted interventions informed by mechanistic insights gleaned from consortium-wide research collaborations. Furthermore, the initiative aims to standardize protocols for transplant candidate selection and post-transplant management, recognizing that variability across centers influences outcomes and may reveal best practices to optimize care delivery.
The Cystic Fibrosis Lung Transplant Consortium, established by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in 2017, represents an unprecedented concerted effort to pool expertise and resources from diverse institutions. This collaborative framework accelerates translational research, enabling rapid application of laboratory discoveries to clinical protocols. As Dr. Comhair noted, fostering synergy among the 15 participating centers across the United States and Canada creates a dynamic platform for innovation, accelerating the development of novel therapeutics against CLAD.
While life expectancy for individuals with cystic fibrosis has improved dramatically due to advancements in medical care and therapies, lung transplantation remains a critical intervention for end-stage lung disease in this population. However, despite surgical successes, graft longevity is compromised by CLAD, underlining the urgent need for enhanced understanding and new treatment modalities. The consortium’s work aims to bridge these gaps by elucidating mechanisms underlying transplant dysfunction and identifying actionable targets.
Importantly, the renewed grant supports not only ongoing biospecimen collection but also the expansion and refinement of research goals to keep pace with evolving scientific priorities. This includes incorporating emerging technologies and embracing data-sharing frameworks to maximize the impact of the biorepository as a key resource for qualified researchers worldwide investigating CLAD and related transplant complications.
Additionally, the initiative acknowledges the heterogeneity of patient responses post-transplant, recognizing that genetic, immunological, environmental, and clinical factors collectively influence outcomes. Integrative analyses enabled by the consortium’s biospecimens and data will facilitate development of risk stratification tools, personalized immunosuppressive regimens, and novel therapeutic strategies to mitigate chronic rejection.
Cleveland Clinic’s leadership in this domain reflects its broader commitment to translational medicine at the interface of clinical care and biomedical research. As a global academic health system renowned for pioneering innovations, Cleveland Clinic continues to drive advances that improve survival and quality of life for patients with complex respiratory disorders. Its extensive infrastructure, including a wide network of hospitals and outpatient centers, supports comprehensive clinical trials and biobanking essential to these endeavors.
The consortium’s work exemplifies a paradigm shift in transplant research, moving from isolated institutional studies toward large-scale, multicenter collaborations that harness the power of shared data and biospecimens. By maintaining a centralized biorepository and coordinating research priorities, Cleveland Clinic ensures that investigators can undertake robust analyses with sufficient statistical power to unravel the multifactorial nature of CLAD.
In summary, the continuation of Cleveland Clinic’s role as the Biorepository Coordinating Center, backed by substantial funding from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, marks a decisive step forward in the fight against chronic lung allograft dysfunction. Through methodical specimen collection, rigorous data integration, and collaborative scientific inquiry, this initiative strives to unlock new knowledge and therapeutic avenues that will ultimately translate into prolonged and improved post-transplant survival for patients afflicted by cystic fibrosis and other advanced lung diseases.
Subject of Research: Chronic Lung Allograft Dysfunction (CLAD) following lung transplantation in patients with cystic fibrosis
Article Title: Cleveland Clinic Secures $5 Million Grant to Propel Research on Chronic Lung Allograft Dysfunction in Cystic Fibrosis Lung Transplantation
News Publication Date: Wednesday, May 21, 2025
Web References:
Cleveland Clinic: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Life Expectancy Information: https://www.cff.org/managing-cf/understanding-changes-life-expectancy
Cleveland Clinic Newsroom: https://newsroom.clevelandclinic.org/
Keywords: Lung transplantation, cystic fibrosis, chronic lung allograft dysfunction, biorepository, translational research, lung transplant outcomes, graft failure, immunology, precision medicine, multicenter consortium
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